A new shimmering 63-storey, $300 million skyscraper that was meant to provide private residential accommodation to Melbourne’s booming inner city population has instead become a quasi-hotel with dozens of rooms listed by owners and investors on Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and others.
Long-term residents in the 633-apartment EQ Tower – three-quarters of them young Asian students – now have to deal with loud parties next door, theft of their belongings and concerns about their personal safety and security as anonymous short-stay guests enter the building at all hours of the day and night.
EQ Tower is just one of many examples were Melbourne residential towers have been swamped by Airbnb inflaming a debate that has brought in politicians.
For the full story, see the Australian Financial Review (Link)
